I’m not a big believer in Christianity. Like a lot of things, it has its strengths and weaknesses, but even better you don’t need to subscribe to learn from the wisdom it has to offer. Personally, I think most Christians are actually quite poor representatives of their creed – frequently doing their utmost to make their Bible-influenced outlook appear rooted in shame, guilt, outdated traditions and ridiculous superstition.
I suspect the same is true of most other belief systems, hence why I decided to cut to the source and read the major texts of each world faith. The Bible is my second text on this holy crusade, weighing in at a whopping 1,700 pages, and will take me a while yet to get through.
My reading to date has confirmed two things for me. First, if religious folk actually read the Bible we would have a lot more agnostics and atheists in the world (how many “Christians” do you know that constantly prioritize watching the latest stupid reality TV show over finding out what the creator of the universe had to tell them?). Second, after you filter out the wackiness, some things will never stop being good ideas.
As a modest writer myself, I can do nothing but tip my hat to the most popular author of bite-sized social commentary ever. Without further ado, God (from his blog archive “The New International Version”, categorized “Esther”, 2nd post, starting subheading 10):
10 On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas-
11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.
12 But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
13 Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times
14 and were closest to the king-Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.
15 “According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.”
16 Then Memucan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes.
17 For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’
18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.
19 “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.
20 Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”
21 The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memucan proposed.
22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man should be ruler over his own household.
Sound familiar? There’s nothing new about seeking advice from “the wise men who understood the times” or setting strong boundaries and not tolerating disrespect. It worked thousands of years ago and it works now. The medium may change but the message does not.
I highly recommend downloading a full translation of The Bible and reading it yourself if you haven’t (it’s not hard to find a free copy). At the very least it will give you fodder to tear apart the next poorly read “Christian” or “modern marriage”-advocating feminist you get stuck next to at a dinner party.
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“(how many “Christians” do you know that constantly prioritize watching
the latest stupid reality TV show over finding out what the creator of
the universe had to tell them?)”
How the can you make a fucking statement like this?
I know about %.000000001 of all the Christians on earth. You probably know less.
It’s hard to know fewer than 0 Christians lol. Also “less” is reserved for quality, “fewer,” for quantity.
Just because you are on the internet it does not mean you should comment like a buffoon.
Of course, but the same can be said of any other societal grouping larger than a certain size. That doesn’t mean there is no value to be found in extrapolating from the small sample size available via personal experience. You only know a fraction of the people in the world that share your gender, don’t share your gender, are older/younger than you, have a certain sexual orientation or come from a certain economic/ethnic background, yet you’re a fool if you don’t at least consider that information in your initial assessment of people. Prejudice is a reality.
My experience is that a lot of Christians display remarkably little familiarity with the religion they make a choice to identify with, especially in contrast to others such as Muslims. If this is not true in your experience, then at the least it should be enlightening that someone else’s experience with a different subset of the larger group has led them to entirely different generalisations (although I note you don’t dispute my point, just my ability to make it)
I have similar experience with Christians. The only Christian I know who has actually read and believes everything in the Bible is my grandmother. She’s convinced that all men are missing a rib, despite any x-rays that I’ve shown her.
Eh, the bone never disappeared. It just moved lower. 😉
Ummm, what the hell was the point of this article? And what’s u with the blacky in that picture?
Not a very good article. Yea, what’s with the white Jesus.
He looks Jewish to me. And the black kid could be Ethiopian, therefore plausible in the context.
Yup. Ethiopia at the time was a powerful country. They did have their citizens as far as Rome, and I think India for trade purposes. Like how we have merchants in other countries now.
A fascinating take on the Ethiopian connection via Abraham and Sheba is presented in “Return to Sodom and Gomorrah” by Charles Pellegrino, which posits many biblical accounts as myth derived from geological events, such as glacial melting (The Flood), tsumanis (the parting of the Red Sea), and surface-oil conflagration (burning of Sodom and Gomorrah).
Lesson learned from that picture: Jesus was probably a paedo.
Dude its OK to knock the Christians but Jesus? Jesus was a courageous man and stood up to religious lawmakers and their supporters. He never shrieked form his duties. He’s was alright man.
Uh, he’s a made up story. Just a shadow of any real person whom may have existed around that time. His story has been sooo intertwined with other fables and gospels the head of the church had to say, paraphrasing, “It was satan who made up all the stories that are similar to jesus’ story before jesus was even born to discredit jesus.” Yeah, my head hurts too trying to fathom how he thought that explanation would be laughed at.
*wouldn’t*
A feeble, if not well-meaning attempt at some layman’s exegesis. Bravo to the author for the attempt, but there’s much more that that could’ve said about this passage in Esther alone. Bottom line gentlemen, read the Bible. I understand that it’s fashionable these days to sneer your average, unpolished believer, but if you’re interested in anything having to do with authentic masculinity, you need to read the Bible. Believe what you will, there’s no book on earth like it.
Bottom line: most unbelievers have already read some, if not all, of the bible… hence why they’re unbelievers. Whereas, most, if not all, believers only read chosen passages that don’t contradict each other… hence why they’re still deluded.
The only one here who’s deluded is you, friend. One’s personal belief is secondary to the fact that the Bible has been around for thousands of years for a reason. If you took the time to actually read it, you’d understand what that reason is.
I took the time to read it. I also studied books analysing it. If you think the life-span of the bible is any indication of it’s credibility you’re hanging onto fucking thin straws.
Then you’ve read the wrong books. Try again.
Or, a more realistic argument, you’ve only read one book. Stupid people rely on one source for their information. Less stupid people rely on multiple sources. Go and debate that cunt (yeah, I’ve switched from “fuck,” just for you).
Some more Cicero I think you are going to like since you can’t seem to read anything more than a third of the way through.
Here:
“He only employs his passion who can make no use of his reason.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero
Coming from the guy who relies solely on a video by the great scholar Maher. LOL
I use to, when I did not know as much, try to explain guys like you away. However, since I have traveled, and read up on most of it now; your arguments are easy to at least deflate, if not outright dominate.
There is really only one thing that drives people to go after the Bible when one really thinks about it….that is it challenges everyone to not live the way they want. It is the main reason for so many other religions gaining converts; people love having sex and with as much frequency as possible.
I bet, if I took the restrictions on sex out of the way, 90% of those who have a problem with the Bible would no longer care.
No the main reason people are saying, “Fuck this fucking bullshit of a fucking book,” is because of all the Pope-fucking-little-boys. Simple as that. As for the rest of the “fallen sheep,” blame that on the internet and the wealth of information out there.
Son, you have no idea the kind of land mine you just stepped on. Take a breath and walk away before you embarrass yourself.
Oooh, christian getting pissed? Turn the other cheek. Wait, were you fucked by a pope? Did I dig up old memories?
The Pope’s title is “Vicar of Christ” or Christ on Earth. He never should have been given that title. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church has ruined the reputation of Christians everywhere although there are many good Catholics. Whatever they did, it was largely because the Catholic bishops demanded celibacy, and eventually allowed a prime opportunity for your “rainbow” friends of old to have a perfect cover for their practice. Think about it.
If you wish me to find you a “perfect Christian” I cannot. Christianity never claimed it was for perfect people. If they were perfect, then Christ was never needed.
LOL, I guess you ran out of good arguments. For one who claims not to care soo much, you sure seem butt hurt.
That literally makes no sense. Either I don’t care and now I’m all butt hurt. Or I did care and now I don’t.
Yeah, and both can mean butt hurt. Try again Princess.
I’ll let you dwell some more on why your previous comment makes no sense. Hell, I’ll even let you sleep on it. Maybe you can pray to god for the answer. LOL.
I know you are trying to make me angry. I am also sure you view yourself as a learned man son, but you have a terribly poor grasp of the Bible and what it says. For example your ten pieces argument.
If a man had been accused, and successfully litigated against by witnesses in the gates for rape he had two options only. Marriage, or death. Perhaps some here would say they are the same thing?
Either way, no amount of money was warranted. Only responsibility for bad behavior.
The only memory you dig up is, for all the media obsession over it, how ignorant people are about the numbers behind the Catholic pedophilia cases. In the US alone, the percentage of priests molesting kids in the last 50 years is like .3 percent at the extreme highest estimate. Compare that to the numbers of adults molesting kids in foster homes, group homes, and public schools, and I’ll tell you where to apply your moral outrage.
Splinter in your brother’s eye, beam in your own.
Oh wait, that’s from the Bible.
As said in another comment (by me) here, go watch “Religulous” it’s all there. They even type it out and quote the verse and shit.
That 0.3 you talk about is the tip of the iceberg. You know it, I know it, everyone knows it. Can I prove it? Give it a couple of months, it’s all coming out in the media almost on a daily basis.
Look cupcake, it is not for me to do your research for you.
If you have proof, spell it out. So far, you are a waste of my time. This is like a freight train aimed at a piece of straw on a railroad track on my way to my destination. My getting there on time is assured. The fact that the piece of intellectual straw fancies himself a massive boulder of knowledge will have no effect on the final outcome here.
Unless of course your stupidity is an act, and you are going to agree with me? 😉 hehehehehehe
Uh, cupcake, I gave you a specific reference which you can check out. But you don’t want to because that could provide you with information you don’t want to know. Come on, quit being a pussy about it.
You can prove nothing. Read the John Jay report, in the last 50 years in the US, 252 convictions in this matter have been made. Even if you quadruple that number, it still gets you to like .8 percent. I guess in order to believe anything higher, you’d have to take it on Faith.
But I take it, that’s not really your thing, is it?
Time will tell. Just like time told how Michael Jackson fucked countless boys rather than just one or two, the same will go for the church. But, you realise that’s not even important. The important thing is most people are either laughing or are ashamed at all the kiddy fucking that’s been going on, and most people believe that what the public currently knows is the tip of the iceberg. Hence facts or not, the church’s credibility is sooo fucked right now. Probably fucked for good.
Yeah, I have heard Bill Maher’s take on religion, especially Christianity. If that guy is your go to reference I know you are clueless. Maher presents arguments that are at his very best, weak. He intentionally uses arguments of others that he thinks are “new and cutting edge.” Yet they are at least 1800 years old some of them, and have been steadily refuted by Christians the world over since.
I recommend the PIG guide to the Bible for you. It is like baby’s milk with baby steps for the infant in Bible knowledge. Cheers.
Christ, I already replied on this blog how he’s not my only reference. Just read the fucking blog, alright?
Not likely, cupcake. Hate to break it to you.
Is that even an argument? Sounds like back peddaling to me. Is Lance Armstrong your hero hon?
Right. He’s just your most credible one. A failed stand-up comedian turned adequately mundane talk show host that no one watches. Way to set the bar high.
lol
Come to think of it, this comment actually reiterates what I say. It is not that the priests who have sex with altar boys, or that some pope’s like Leo the tenth had harems; it is that like you, they hated to Bible, but used it to justify their own ends.
You swear with the word fucking a lot, that belies your need for it; simultaneously going for a gay sex argument.
If it were not for the fact that the more intelligent of your camp would scream foul for me selecting you to debate with, I could easily use your intellectual beggary you call arguments to my hearts content.
Yet I think that both actual proponents of both camps would accuse me of rigging my argument by debating you in public.
Try again.
No, he was my reference for the verse, which is typed out in big letters on the screen. Discredit bill all you like, but good luck discrediting a quoted verse.
Try it cunt. See I can use other words than fuck.
“Fuck this fucking bullshit of a fucking book,” is because of all the Pope-fucking-little-boys. Simple as that.”
I don’t think so. People don’t read the Bible because they can’t think and instead prefer the interpretations of obese blasphemers such as John Hagee.
At least the Catholic Church understands the average moron cannot interpret the Bible on his own, which means only the most intelligent can do it.
Your vocabulary leaves nothing to be desired that is for sure. I think this blog is a smidgen out of your league my friend.
Look man, I don’t care about your reference by maher by proxy. The guy is an idiot, even those in his camp know that. I hate to do this to you, but you have to understand that you need to stop speaking.
I come from a ridiculous amount of resources with which to draw from. My references are from over 2000 years of careful, and faithful study completed by both Christian and secular scholars alike. Their attention to detail on this topic would be insulted if I compared yours on the topic to theirs.
Your grasp of this is like a puddle arguing with an ocean that their knowledge is the same as yours. Yet the similarity stops the moment one realizes that the puddle is merely a few inches deep while the ocean is miles upon miles deep.
When the bitter hot sun of scrutiny and its heat hits them both, the ocean replenishes the planet itself as it has purpose; while the puddle merely goes away.
The (Roman) Catholic priesthood requires celibacy because they don’t have the time available to devote themselves to both a marriage and their parish(church).
I had intended the passage to mostly speak for itself, believing any additional analysis of the core messages from my perspective (seek advice from the wise when uncertain, don’t tolerate disrespect, set strong boundaries and adhere to them – as noted in the article) to be superfluous. As I said, I’m no Christian and I was wary of diluting the content with repetitive or uninformed commentary.
The rest of what you said is exactly the message I was after.
Appreciate the constructive feedback.
I like this article because it highlights features of the biblical text that are often ignored. We don’t realize how patriarchal ancient near eastern societies were and how far we’ve moved from them. But I do agree with Antares, you could have done much more. For instance, you could have placed the passage in the overall context of the point of the book Esther. The story is about an Israelite woman who attains imperial power and uses it to save her people. She is promoted because of the patriarchy but she also subverts it.
Its not that men dont want to read the Bible because its unfashionable. Its just that no one wants to wade through all the superstitious bullshit. And most men dont have the patience of Thomas Jefferson to go and literally cut the supernatural nonsense out of the Bible and paste together just the wisdom of the text.
I never said the Bible was an easy read. A lot of people don’t want to go through Moby Dick at full strength for a lot of the same reasons, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. There’s a lot of the miraculous in the Bible for sure, but there’s no superstition. It’s too carefully written to allow for that. As much as I respect our 3rd Prez, the Jefferson Bible (or rather Gospel) are complete tripe. Regardless of what the individual who’s reading it believes, you completely neuter the message of the Gospel and the character of Jesus Christ by editing out the divine in the story.
This post sucks.
No, it does not.
One must get away from the current thought (read: secular modern thought) from the current elites who trash the Bible. Most archeologists in the Middle East be they believers or otherwise will study it, if not keep it on hand, in order to use it as a valuable timeline for important discoveries they are working on.
Also, contrary to popular, and to some of you elitist types who think it inferior or a copy to other religions, it is not. It was ground breaking in it’s time. If you compare it to the religions of Chemosh, Baal, Ereshkigal, Marduk, Ishtar, Ashtoreth; it not only elevated women, and the common man; but also put Kings on par with their subjects.
Monotheism was a direct affront to the religions around it, and distinctly different.
I know I will get a ton of people to challenge this, I say bring it on. The Bible, contrary to much of what people will say, will still be leading believers thousands of years from now. If people read history correctly, and not just the modern narrative, the Bible might surprise you on it’s veracity on a great many things.
For example, it refused child sacrifice. In other words, putting “children through the fire.” Like to Baal, Marduk, or Kronos. The Carthaginians were notorious for this. The ancient city of Carthage killed something like 600,000 infants and children over 300 years.
It made the rulers not so high and mighty, and the lowly elevated to human rights, at least a 1000 years before the Greeks thought of it; reinvented the wheel. They may have possibly gotten the idea from the Torah as the Old Testament is sometimes known as (The first five books).
Christians wiped out Gnostics. Gnostics studied the same bible but didn’t take it as literal, rather taught the subliminal meanings. It was all down to numbers (which is completely lost in the translations). Small example of this can be found in the film Pi.
As for “making woman equal.” Fuck off. The pagans had 12 deities, 6 men, 6 women. And the Egyptians before them believed in the Gold, silver, bronze and iron age. We’re currently deep into the iron age, according to their calendar. This age is defined as the age of man. The golden age is the woman’s rule.
Anyway, go on, contradict.
LOL, I will contradict it. It is pretty easy to do.
Just because these religions had a similar if not equal number of women, it was because the creators of the religion did not want a god who did not have a woman of equal bearing. Most of your female gods could have cared less about women.
Also, yes, it did elevate women, but not as equals. That is your addition. For example, when an ancient Israelite captured a woman from his enemy she was allowed a month to grieve, then he could “consummate” the marriage with her. Yet the key word is marriage, she had to be his wife, or he let her go. Even slaves and foreigners were disallowed by the Torah to be “ill-treated” because the Israelites were supposedly slaves from Egypt at one point themselves. If the captured bride could not be consoled or contained, she was to be given provision, set free and released to her family; notice, I did not say the Israelites actually always did that, but they were supposed to based on their faith and its laws! Try finding a a local religious equivalent for that from the time; you won’t!
For your Gnostic argument, it falls flat, the gnostic were actually favored and ahead at the time, it was not really until Constantine that they really had anything to worry about. It was the Apostle John who used his Gospel (the fourth one, and not considered one of Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark (considered Peter’s account), Luke), but John’s was called the Mystic Gospel. He wrote it to argue against the Gnostic view of Jesus as a ordinary man who was still dead, but His Spirit raised. He knew they were outpacing his “flock” in converts if you will, so they actually outnumbered the Christians.
But go ahead, try again.
As said before (by me) in the bible if you rape a woman you must pay the father 10 (or so) gold pieces and you’re all good. Note: it doesn’t say how old (or young) she is. Guess the pope’s been dishing out their coins left and right. No, wait, they’re fucking little boys.
Actually, the penalty for rape, or false accusation of Rape in the Torah was death by stoning. As long as two witnesses could be found. Try again.
I have no idea where you got the ten gold pieces idea. Go ahead and try and link to the scripture for that. This will be comical.
All of John’s Letters (I, II, & III John) have anti–Gnostic elements in them as do a few others in the General Epistles.
Shucks, don’t have a bible on hand to double check. Oh well, it was in “Religulous.” Give it a watch, pretty amusing.
False rape =/= rape. Damn, you’re making your side look bad.
True. He spent the rest of his life after his botched execution by Nero, and subsequent imprisonment on Patmos contradicting what they preached.
lol, keep talking. Your mathematical formula does not work. Never said they equaled each other..sweetheart.
Read “I’ve read the bible and studied it” as “I watched Bill Maher masturbate to himself blithering about it for two hours.” Spit out the Kool-Aid and go back to school.
Jesus Mysteries a.k.a. Was Jesus a Pagan God. Holy Blood, Holy Grail. And, yes, Bill Maher, along with countless docs and speeches from people like Christopher Hitchens. Hahaha.
…and yet you used that as an argument for how the bible elevated women.
Mary Magdalene do too well in the bible. Just saying. Oh, wait, is that off-topic as well?
Son, that’s old news. The anti-theist cult went out when the Rational Response crowd up and died. Get with the times and try again.
Actually, she did quite well, and having most likely been a former prostitute, Jesus actually elevated her to a social acceptance she would have never found in Magdalene (I think) where she worked.
She was even one of the first women to be brought up into the ranks. Although feminists, and idiot historians like Brown of the Da Vinci Code try to make waves.
For a guy who acts so “alpha” your sure seem feminist.
I’m actually agnostic. Athiest towards the bible, undecided about afterlife. Yeah, I’m the new wave.
Wait, that wasn’t productive to our “debate,” then again, neither was your pussy comment.
Never a prostitute. Bible propoganda. There’s the Gospel of Mary Magdalene which they “conveniently” chose to leave out… after centuries of debate.
Actually, it has been consistently proven the “her Gospel” was written almost 230 years after her death. Far too much time after the 500 eye witnesses and other lesser witnesses would have died. More a fable written by a drunkard with an ax to grind. Familiar territory for you I am sure.
However, at the Council of Nicea (318 AD), that “Gospel” and others like the Gospel of Judas (who committed suicde according to eyewitness accounts seemed to have gotten up from the grave and wrote it 180-250 years after his supposed suicide.
Look son, I’m sorry, but you don’t know what you are talking about.
The word you would be looking for is a word called “Canonical” or Cannon. More or less, since you have an aversion to dictionaries, it means “inspired.”
Your “Gospels” are contained in what is called the Apocrypha. It contains all the rejected Gospels I know you are going to use. They were deemed to irrational, and full of obvious inaccuracies.
So the council decides lets keep Matthew mark luke and john even though they couldn’t even keep Jesus’ last words on the cross consistent? Good job council.
Not so, according to Jewish Law, if someone raped my sister depending on the situation (whether in a place like the mountains or fields, or a city) I would have to execute her. As she would be normally surrounded by women and thus hard to rape, putting her accusation/discovered pregnancy in awkward terms. AFTER this is determined, I get to go after the rapist as the ‘avenger of blood’. This position means I get to go all Liam Taken on their asses until I get revenge for my sister. They had one chance to avoid this, run to a sanctuary city (of which one is in 1 day’s running of any normal city) to have it judged before elders. If the accusation is false then he is free to go, but if it is true/consensual, I will kill him. I write a little more about it in this article, towards the end. Mostly it’s a rebuttal of people saying homosexuality is accepted by the Bible.
http://allyouare.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/post-scripture-the-fallacies-of-homosexuality-charts/
May be right, dunno if the verse I’m talking about is in the first or second testament. Though, by the very nature of the verse I’d assume first testament. Even the Jews pick and choose.
Son, you need to stop talking about this, you really don’t know what you are talking about.
In actuality, the first Gospel was most likely Mark, and it is considered by most Historians to be Peter’s account as Mark was his disciple. Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels in that they are a close synopsis of each other. John, although has several similar stories, is focused more on Christ’s Divinity so it is called the Mystic Gospel by scholars.
Your lame attack on their veracity actually falls completely flat against the facts. The Iliad very earliest copy of it’s manuscript we have is almost 1200 years after it was supposedly written. Yet, it contains reference to places that no longer existed when the copy they had existed. That essentially gives it some credibility. But not much.
The New Testament has 5,280 scraps, and full manuscripts containing everything in the accepted books that make up the Bible without the Apocrypha. Most of them are withing 30-80 years of the actual events (meaning within 30 years of Christ’s death and Resurrection). This means that if anything in those books was actually false, their were still living eye witnesses to the events who would have gladly refuted what was said. We know this from Historians like Josephus and his Roman contemporary Philo. They wrote about the events. Also, there are 49 verified secular sources of Roman aristocrats who could have cared less writing about a “false magician” from Judea in Galilee fooling the people and leading a revolt through trickery. In other words, they knew he was claimed to do miracles and these writing are even earlier than the first letters of the New Testament. The New Testaments accuracy of events have lead lawyers of our day to say they could get a conviction based on the evidence. Think about that.
You are talking about the refuge cities where they could go, and hold onto the horns of that altar until they got a trial from the local elders who would have had no “dog in the fight” between the accused, and the accusers. This was in regards to if a man knew that he killed a man, but it was an accident and he could avoid the wrath of the murdered person’s family.
In regards to your vendetta for rape portion, I have no recollection of the Bible saying you could get revenge that way. “I am the Lord your God, Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord.” Lev. 19:18
Also, I tried to find what you were talking about in regards to a women who is raped having to be killed. That is no where, although that may have been practiced by other cultures local to the same geographical area.
What is actually written stats that there must be two witnesses, and a woman would be killed if she did not scream for help. If the man was found guilty, death by stoning, if the woman found to be a false accuser, death by stoning. Essentially, if our knowledge of modern day statistics of Rape and false Accusations hold for back then, I imagine more men were killed for a false accusation by white knights and family of the accuser; then women were stoned for false accusations. Don’t have proof, but I suspect quite strongly. The Old Testament Law was very strict, and when you took someone to court by the city gates (ancient cities conducted business at the gates before closing them in case of attack), I don’t think many parents wanted to watch their kids die. I suspect the more common “punishment” if a man was found guilty of rape, considering their was polygamy, was marriage so as not to disgrace the daughter.
Try and find a religion from that time that followed the same accounts, you won’t.
Dude, seriously, stop talking. I mean no offense but you have no clue about the Bible, and need to stop acting like you possess even an inkling of intellectual wight to add to the topic.
You don’t know whether it is first or second testament? I”m surprised you even know there are two testaments, let alone be able to quote a verse from memory.
Yet you piss all over that knowledge of 66 books written by 40 men over 1500 years. I suspect you will fail to grasp the enormity of what that is, let alone know that it is completely amazing that it stands so well under scrutiny despite that fact.
The Bible law you are mostly incorrect about is actually more just than our modern day law. Today the state falsely substitutes itself as the victim in the trial and takes the benefit of any labor the rapist does while incarcerated. Under the Torah law, the rapist must work for the woman he raped and his labor takes care of her and any children she may have. The rapist is forced to work for the woman his entire life, that is far more a deterrent than we have today.
Uh, no, that’s not how it worked at all. if you raped a woman and she wasn’t betrothed (read: married) then you had to pay the father the bride price he would have been paid when he married her off and then you had to take care of her for the rest of your life, fuck alimony, she lived in your house, she consumed your food, you were obliged under pain of death by stoning to take care of her, and you couldn’t divorce her. The only concession you got in return is that she was expected to fulfill the wifely duties she would have done for the husband her father had chosen for her instead of you who would have been just a stranger as well (and that in hopes of dampening your rampant sexual desire that caused you to rape her in the first place so that you won’t rape again). For the time, it was genius and it worked rather well because the man lived with the stigma of his crime, and was truly in a self detrimental prison of forced masculinity.
Also both girls AND BOYS were married off soon after puberty began so that sexual immorality (like rape) would be less likely to happen. Men were stoned if they raped a betrothed or married woman and the woman only stoned if the evidence showed that it would have been futile to scream for help or that she did so and it wasn’t effective. The Bible doesn’t speak the same language nor does it use the same reasoning forms that you do. You’re manhandling the texts.
The council of Nicea was about Arianism: The belief that Jesus was either a different substance than or a similar substance to the Father and therefore not God. The council voted overwhelmingly (because of the testimony of the scriptures) that Jesus was the same substance as God the Father, and that Jesus was fully God and fully Man, not half God and half Man, or all God and not man, or All man and not God. Today Christians refer to this doctrine as the hypostatic union.
Also, Fucker, The council did not at all address canon. Canon is a function of inspiration. The fact that all scripture is given by inspiration of God means that things that are scripture, that are God breathed, are part of the canon of God’s word. If I write a book, I have begun a canon of my own work, every book or article or whatever I write after that is part of that canon whether I write a list of the items I have written down or not. The church has recognized that the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are inspired by God and therefore his word. All four quote Jesus as saying different things on the cross:
Matthew:
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesuscried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Mark:
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.
Luke:
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father,into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
John:
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Not one of these accounts states which of these are his last words, It’s likely he said all three items: Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, and It is finished. In what order he said them will never be known for certain but none of these four witnesses say that “X was his last words” while another says “y was his last words”. They state instead an order of events which the author found relevant to their audience, and none of them were by any means exhaustive in repeating what Jesus said. You’re again engaging in manhandling of the text and you’re abusing language for your own delusions. Grow up and get a life.
Yup!
I agree with most of what you say except the initial claim that they did not try to set up a canon of the written word. You are wrong. Constantine actually sent his mother to Irael to gather up holy relics, and made Christianity the state religion. So, he needed a go to guide on what that means. Hence, the Council of Nicea.
Other than that, I agree with you.
This man speaks the truth.
Says the “beliver.” HAHAHAHAHA. Christ.
I know your trolling, and I am cool with that, it just provides ample cannon fodder when I reply and let others make the decision for themselves. 😉
Thanks for that.
No problem. But you do realise I’m also providing cannon fodder by making you refute my comments with your bullshit, which is tooooo easy to tear apart? Anyway, keep going, I’m laughing my ass off.
Sure, and your welcome.
Great post brother!
One of the biggest deceptions so called objective historians (aka closet atheists) push is the belief that history doesn’t support the existence of Jesus.
Quite the contrary, most objective scholars agree that Jesus did in fact exist. Roman texts speak of him and there are other records that attest that a Man by the name of Jesus did in fact speak gospel to people.
You know your faith is the true faith when it is so viciously attacked by followers of no faith and followers of false faith.
I concur!
“For example, it refused child sacrifice. In other words, putting “children through the fire.” Like to Baal, Marduk, or Kronos. The Carthaginians were notorious for this. The ancient city of Carthage killed something like 600,000 infants and children over 300 years.”
ugh, kind of like how many this country murders in the womb every few months. Nice to know that we’re repeating history; at least we’re not doing it in the name of a demonic god.
Man are. Many of these lesbian feminists are won’t to do anything with the Bible and ‘Patriarchy.” They also claim to worship a “goddess” that lived before ten thousand years ago, and “everyone” worshiped her! Honestly, they have yet to prove any of this scientifically, but like rape statistics, a feminist said it; therefore IT MUST be true.
They may not worship one of those gods or goddesses, but they would have. And if they think of it, probably will start. Their cognitive dissonance is quite strong.
Hear, hear!
Amen. The Bible has always been, and will always be, THE book of the human race. Any measurement for literature of any kind will always be in comparison to the standard. Number of translations, number of copies, number of derivative books, internal consistency, truth to human experience and so on.
I can understand the frustration if one wished it was otherwise.
I would even go father to say that the consistency of God’s word to people continues back before it’s writing into oral history from Adam to Moses, thus making its effect unbroken from the dawn of man. But now I’m beginning to preach 😉
The most fascinating thing about the Bible is that it so many people feel a burning need to mock it actively.
There must be something about that ancient text that burns in them, so passionate is their need to deliver their derision up in the most puerile of taunts.
Nothing like a little preachin’ from the good book to bring out the playground bully in the the most learned of men.
One thing I do note, though, is that the world seems to sort itself out quite well: Most of the snide and adolescent commenters are people that I would be quite content seeing go off to eternal torment.
The small amount of enjoyment I get out of putting them in their place now is nothing compared to the cosmic I-told-you-so that possibly awaits them. But then, I’ve always been long term oriented.
Bottom line – I would believe their claims of atheism if they spent even 3-5% of their time mocking other world religions. But they obsess over Christianity and the Bible. It’s hilarious, really.
But, like all types of frame, the frame of my personal faith is unshakeable, especially in the face of playground taunts. It is sobering, really, to see men on this blog and others who are able to write and reason brilliantly on most any topic suddenly turn into a “mean girl”.
Something about engaging with Christians just brings out the worst in others.
Yep, it’s called incredulity. It’s incredulous that people in this day and age still believe it. And that politicians still say, “God bless this country” and aren’t made to resign due to mental instability. That in court they make you swear on the bible (which is a bunch of lies, therefore means nothing), that Creationists are allowed to build a museum teaching how man walked with dinosaurs, that they’re also trying to get scientific facts about evolution banned in schools.
Why wouldn’t rational people be pissed?
Tone down the butthurt, please. I must daily engage with many people of lefty tendencies, people of other faiths who have value systems diametrically opposed to mine, etc.
But through it all, I avoid losing control of my words or internet commenting.
I’m calm.
You’re wound.
I win.
You’re going to need to work on your frame, both masculine and intellectual before others deem you worthy of intellectual engagement. Now learn from this experience, and do better next time.
I’m doing great. Nothing better than stirring up a religious hornet’s nest. They all try and scamper around quoting verses and shit. If it wasn’t so sad they’d make a comedy about it.
Proud troll. Ho hum.
Proud christian. Ho hum.
Seriously, is that all you got?
It is all I need. Yes.
Then why are you here? Why don’t you kill yourself and get closer to god? Serious.
Huh? I am no longer dealing with your low level intellect. See a shrink, and get some drugs. Try not to develop an addiction.
Aah, Jesse doesn’t want to get closer to god.
Welcome back Ash, how you been?
This troll will pose very little threat to you. He mainly deals with straw man arguments at best, and insults when he does not have a valid response.
He will be easy to refute.
Take care bro.
So says the dude who can’t refute my facts and uses straw man arguments. Very christian of you, serious, circular arguments are your guys forte.
Man, if you have some astute argument or observation, I speak for everyone that we are waiting. This comment here is the highlight of your other comments.
Please bring your best arguments, as I have yet to see anything resembling a coherent argument let alone mumble of concise, straightforward thinking.
I’ve been refuting back and forth, dude. Seriously, hard to keep up with the Christian brigade’s whimpers. Just re-read this blog. No, wait, that would take some effort. No, you’d just like me to write a page long paragraph listing fact after fact for which you can ignore. I’ve been through this countless times, all you christians have an automatic brick wall approach to anything which you can’t refute. If it wasn’t soooo sad it would be impressive, your level of denial.
Honestly, I have looked up your “religulous” and found out the author. I have debated your points point by point which means I had the courtesy to read your inane blather.
You have not done the same, only tried in vain to insult me.
I guess, based on your responses, it is easy to see that you would project your own mental brick wall on me. You cannot see anything else, and brag about washed up comedians who are clueless as your guide to spiritual wisdom.
You are not convincing anyone, and again, I thank you for that.
The only “research” I could do is to re-read the fucking bible. No thanks. Once was enough. And no, I didn’t get all the way through it, only managed about a third before saying, “fuck this.”
Wow, quite a change from your initial claim of authority on the subject. Considering all the great men who have gone before lavishing it with compliments, coupled with your lack of perception on the matter; I see no further reason to entertain a discussion with you.
I came back to see if you had anything of real value to contribute, and sad to say I am not surprised that you did not surprise me.
And you’ll come back again to read my rebuttal.
Hard facts that the book is bullshit are pretty much cemented in the first couple of lines. Then re-iterated throughout the book. Then contradicted throughout the book.
Simplest example. It’s a sin to kill… and yet in psalms, “…there’s a time to kill.” I went through this with tateearl a while ago. But go on, why don’t you do some research if you dare, go and read one of the books I listed (which I read all the way through to the end, even if Holy Blood, Holy Grail only kicked into gear on page 333). Or go on youtube and watch some Christopher Hitchens snippets where he tears apart Christian arguments. I’d paraphrase but he does it so well, there’s no point.
But I already know you don’t want to find out the truth, hence why you’re still christian. It’s as simple as that.
I have heard their arguments. They are not new. The are hundreds of years old. Hitchens is not the first. He won’t be the last.
I know you are trolling hard. Yet your perfect in that while we both know you can’t come up with arguments, you try and hide behind the “I troll so they make death threats” garbage because honestly, you have no argument of your own. You can’t, you are smart enough to insult, and not very well.
The thing is, I know I am not going to get to you; but I can use you while others read this.
Thanks. We are done, and please don’t call.
Why do you sound like such a butthurt pussy?
Hey, Carson, good to have someone on board. I gotta go to sleep. Troll them hard, okay?
Yes Carson, I too have to leave. But I will be back, and I can’t wait to see what nonsensical tripe you both come up with.
See ya soon. 😉
Off to fuck his mum methinks. Or maybe get “closer” to god, if you know what I mean. Probably don’t. I mean fuck little kids like his priest taught him to.
I will not entertain that with a proper comment other than you are completely out of line. In your quest to hide your foolishness, you show how foolish you really are.
You take it too far, which shows that you are truly weak.
Question: you love jesus, right. So if he asked you to suck his dick to prove your love, would you?
Worthless. I can understand the humor of trolling. Sometimes I do it myself. Yet did you feel powerful while you typed that or just stupid?
Usually a person of real substance who does not have an answer tries to keep arguing even though they know they failed; learning experience I guess. But your way of surrender really leaves you wanting. You are insignificant at best.
I’m an atheist, but I do agree that kind of behavior is really childish. Most atheists really don’t think about it, and couldn’t care less if someone is a Christian. We don’t sit around thinking “Christianity bad christianity bad christianity bad!” These people are fringe, the only reason most people notice them is because they are very loud. They don’t get much notice from people outside their grievance-studies classes at college.
The ones here are just trolls. All they want is a reaction because it gets their rocks off. Ignore them and they will go away. Most of the comments here are people responding to one person who is just jerking his keyboard. Don’t Feed The Trolls!!!!!!!
They attack Christianity because it is an easy target, and Christians do little or nothing to push back. For example, if people feel that Christianity is worth such deprecation, then what becomes of art? Bach, Handel, Beethoven….should these be thrown out in favor of Gangsta Rap and Satanic Death Metal? What has Christianity done to defend and promote that part of itself?
“They attack Christianity because it is an easy target,”
Exactly.
The aim is to just get a christian worked up enough to send death threats, not easy to do.
As for trying to convince them they’re fucking deluded, no point, I’ve used hard facts in the past but they always seem to ignore hard facts for some reason… just flat out ignore reason… hence better to troll than to try and convert.
Well…”professor” I get the feeling that you live in a country where it is christians not muslims and buddhists trying to shoehorn their religion into government and running around en masse telling people they will burn eternally for disagreeing. Not to mention trying to force their faith into science class
Also your argument could apply to anyone who does not believe a particular thing.
Why are creationists so hung up on On the Origin of Species? Obviously they really believe the theory of evolution! Their ego just wont allow them to admit that they share a common ancestor with the chimpanzee.
Good for you on reading the Bible, if you read through it yourself it is easy to see how it is not just some collection of desert writings but is easily the most influential book in Western Civilization. A few things to note when reading: when reading the prophets or about the prophets it is important to not see them as fortune tellers or like Greek seers, but as men (and a few women) who denounce the current culture and morality and proclaim what God sees Israel doing and what they should do to fix it.
Books of particular interest will be Ruth, Esther, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Hosea.
The point of the article is a very good one. Basically, the Bible is one of the foundational texts of Western Civilization, and every educated man should be familiar with it on some basic level. Regardless of one’s religious views, the book itself has been tremendously influential over the centuries in inspiring art, literature, and many other spheres of endeavor. A good grasp of Biblical lore is essential for any scholar, and I wish I knew more about it. Good article, and well done.
Interestingly, just as Spengler predicted in Decline of the West, as our civilization gets farther from its foundational texts, i.e. its myths are analyzed out of existence, the more things fall apart.
I’m not a Christian but I know wisdom when I see it, and there is a good reason this wisdom was written down a long time ago. Humans have not really changed biologically in 10,000 years or more…but our surroundings have seen rapid and revolutionary changes in that time. Civilization has sprung up, and as Freud pointed out, much of the daily struggle man has results from the combatting tendencies of his animal nature vs. the demands of civilization. (Love him or hate him, I think Freud was basically right in Civilization and Its Discontents.)
Religions can be valuable as ways to try and control some of man’s (and woman’s) nature. Like it or not, as we have lost touch with religion in our society, the worse things have become and the worse they’re going to get.
It’s a choice between two evils. Letting people believe in a little man in the sky who controls everything vs. seeing man’s animal side running wild.
If men actually read the Bible literally…they become atheists. If men understand their Bible…they become gods.
Hahaha. Some of these dudes here will never understand.
Even when I spell it out clear as day.
Don’t insult me…you tell me everything I need to know about you.
Actually, I am on your side. Read below.
I know…that’s why I don’t call you a troll…it’s funny when some guys are so in their head they have no idea what’s going on…even when I speak it clear as day.
If men don’t get laid, they become taterearl.
Or highly educated, successful, well networked.
And not posing like they are a player on a PUA blog like they have a clue=Carson D
Get off his dick, seriously. This is not Return Of Queens.
Ho hum. Carson and the other dude have a social argument metric of “If I can’t beat them, scream ‘GAY’ and declare myself the wiener.”
Good job. You suck at insulting me almost as bad as you do at game, and knowledge of anything else for that matter.
I guess I am on Tater, as much as you are Fucker.
I don’t have the rainbow experience, so I will defer to your better judgement.
Good way to show him… by calling him gay right back. Showed you wit there. Damn, I’m in awe. Did you come up with that all by yourself? Or did you mother help you out?
Fucker is a whore.
VVVVVVVVVVV
VIRGIN ^^^^^^^^
At least you’re showing your true colours. Hahaha. You know, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they insult you… or so I’ve heard.
Yes, but like your supreme alpha confidence and frame knows, it is not what you say but how you say it right?
I mean yes I threw it right back at him, but at least I did it with flare.
Jealousy is not becoming on top of your other wondrous character flaw….I meant traits.
It also doubles as a knife.
You can also tell a lot about a person by the way they compliment you….scorpion.
Ain’t jealous of a kiddie fucker. Stop touching them Jesse. Leave them kids alone. Wait, you’re not a father, I hope. Better not be teaching them how to get closer to god.
Cut deep, tate. Cut deep.
You see this watch? You see this watch?
That watch costs more than your car.
Watch? I only see a VIRGIN ^^^^^^^^^^^
That is 100% true. That’s what the Gnostics were all about. Hell, Genesis spells it out clearly that nothing in the book should be taken literally (talking snakes, tree of knowledge, garden of eden etc) and yet cunts still say it’s all fact – or my new favourite, “A History Book.”
Unfortunately it’s impossible to derive the true meanings through any translated verses. Names had numerical double meanings – all lost. Hell, Jesus’ original name was Hebrew of Joseph (look it up), just as an example of how shit gets mixed up through translation.
Can’t believe I’m agreeing with a VIRGIN ^^^^^^^^^^
I read it both ways…I know my strengths and weaknesses.
The Earth was created in 7 days. You know what a day is…a 24 hour unit of time. What you understand is that a day could have another meaning to someone else that isn’t 24 hours. Does it matter which perspective is right…or that it’s a cool story about how things began.
Or it’s a fairy tale made up by men who didn’t have a clue how the earth was created.
And, yes, I’m no firm believer of the big bang either, but that’s clearly stated as a theory so I have no problems with it. See the difference? One’s a fairy tale that some claim to be real, the other’s a theory that probably will be replaced by an even better theory, which will be replaced probably by a definitive fact somewhere along the line. Just waiting for that time machine.
Again, that is like one of your favorite creationists saying evolution is only a “theory.” I t belies a lack of understanding. A Theory contains all natural laws (a law of nature is lower than a theory), and should be able to be used to explain all we see.
The Bible most likely has a problem with what is called “Macro-Evolution” which basically means that animals morphed into greater and greater species one set or series of organs at a time. There is ample “LACK” of evidence for this.
On the other hand, “Micro-Evolution” based on a more careful study, means changes within a species. Essentially, this most likely has little to no offense against the Bible.
It can be proven that the ancient Hebrew used to explain Genesis uses a word for the origin that can mean day, week, years, or “Age.” When translating it, I don’t know personally, the supposed correct translation would be the word age.
Of course, most people will not believe that, even creationists who believe the earth is 10,000 years old; or 6000. Yet a correct interpretation most likely means age.
That could range from hundreds to billions of years. I guess it would depend on your belief in everything happening by random chance, a pantheon of gods in disharmony, or a single Being who made everything on their own.
For me, I agree with the Greek Stoics (Aristotle, Plato, Socrates). That essentially a whole pantheon of gods, like the gods of Greek Mythology, is foolish. If it is a God, it is most likely one being that is responsible for all.
In the words of Cicero:
“God’s law is ‘right reason.’ When perfectly understood it is called ‘wisdom.’ When applied by government in regulating human relations it is called ‘justice.”
And:
“Nature herself has imprinted on the minds of all the idea of God”
―
Marcus Tullius Cicero
The crutch of your argument is reinterpreting a word “day” to mean whatever fits to not make the bible seem idiotic in the face of scientific discovery.
Pretty weak. Which you can intrpret as week. Which could mean long. Which you could intrpret as strong. See how that goes?
The “Crutch”of my argument. Yeah, I have heard people use that phrase a lot. Secularists love to accuse Christians of needing a crutch to get through life.
Here is an example, and I will keep it simple for you, have you ever heard of the Hittites?
For the longest time, the more intelligent of your camp would claim the Bible was idiotic because it claimed a group called the Hittites sacked the cities of Egypt and forced them to pay tribute making them a vassal. Then in the 1950s they discovered the royal archives of the ancient Hittites. It proved everything the Bible claimed, which pretty much guarantees a high level of veracity. This is one of several reasons even atheist scholars who dig in the Middle East keep a Bible on hand so they can use it as a timeline to get a good date on any discoveries they make.
I think you will also have found it odd if the first book actually gave a physics lesson. Yet in many ways it does, but was written thousands of years before our modern science. I guess I see it from the point of view that Nature imprints the idea that there is a God, as that still best explains what we see.
To believe that everything came by pure chance by natural forces that did not create themselves somehow explains how non-living chemistry formed living bio-chemistry, non-living matter to living matter. How nothing somehow birthed something. You claim you don’t believe in the Big Bang; yet it i the best theory we have right now. Einstein thought it refuted as he was an agnostic, yet Hubble (another Christian by the way) challenged him and he accepted that his theory of Relativity could not be explained in a self-contained, infinite universe. The universe, shaped like an insanely large disk, is moving outward, and if it is moving outward, then it started from somewhere. Hence the Big Bang, also called a singularity. Let me know if you need me to slow down.
I use to be skeptical about theologians who interpreted the Bible wrong as wrong itself. Yet, when you take a look on how it talks about days, considering how vague it is compared to the gutter tripe the other local polytheistic religions claimed the earth came to be, it might actually be a being who is responsible for what we see, trying to keep things brief while explaining how things came to be. You honestly think a man from the 14th century BC could comprehend everything we know now and more in a few months of conversation?
Ha, as I see, you’ve already mention that. Please ignore me.
When I read Little Red Riding Hood literally…I thought wolves were bad people.
When I understood Little Red Riding Hood…the wolf was teaching me how to deal with shit tests to get what I want.
Don’t leave out 2nd Maccabees (chapters 6 and 7 especially) and Judith from the Catholic canon of Scripture.
“First, if religious folk actually read the Bible we would have a lot more agnostics and atheists in the world ”
Whenever someone makes this argument, I know I’m not dealing with a deep thinker. The existence or non-existence of God I completely independent of what it says in the Bible. Even if you assume that the Bible is man-created garbage not remotely rooted in reality, what does that have to do with proving God doesn’t exist?
Breath of fresh air right here. Even if I disagreed with you, I could call it a valid rebuttal.
Uh, agnostics don’t claim that god is or isn’t real, they say, “Who the fuck knows.” Just thought I should clarify for you, in case you want to try and sound smart again and come off as an ass whom only the likes of Jesse James would applaud.
And p.s. I’m agnostic when it comes to God and afterlife. 100% athiest when it comes to the bible and religion (note: ALLLLL religion). Oh yeah, fuck all churches, they’re just run by cunts.
I love how the Bible is the most sold out book ever-yet very few grasp the true message of the Word: that Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried and then ressurected. In these lines reside the power of the Gospel, and you only have to believe in His work,in what he did to redeem mankind, in Him to be saved. That is it! Salvation is strictly by grace through faith only. WE ARE NOT SAVED BY WORKS, SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS OR GOOD DEEDS BY US. ONLY BY FAITH IN HIM THAT ETERNAL LIFE IS GIVEN BY GOD AS A GIFT TO MEN. DO YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR A GIFT? NO YOU RECEIVE IT AND THATS IT. Eternal life is a pure gift of love from the Lord, and we have it by solely believing in Christ. IT IS NOT A REWARD
John 3.16 :For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but HAVE everlasting life”
Have. Its in the present tense and it plainly tells you that you have eternal life as soon as you place your trust in Christ, to get saved. Yes, you will possess eternal life, just because of your faith in Christ.
I’ll continue to hammer the point again and again-we are saved because we believe that Christ, God in the flesh, died for our sins, was buried and ressurrected to justify us before the Father.
Let’s not focus on Christians( who are people, and people at best are sinners) and focus on how to receive salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ, the ONLY door to Heaven, and the Only One who can save you from the eternal damnation of Hell.
You can reject this message if you desire, God doesn’t force you to get saved, I don’t force you to get saved but with love in my heart, I desire to warn you in time, of the terrible consequences of rejecting the free gift of Christ.
God gave to every human being free will to make his own decisions. But with choices, come accountability.
God bless you gentlemen 🙂
Justin Bieber sells pretty well too. And the Spice Girls sold more albums than the Beatles. So your point is…?
God bless you RossMac Tross
Gentlemen this is the truth, and a serious matter. I
hope you all can hear this warning before it’s too late:
John 3.16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but HAVE everlasting life”
No sinner can stand in front of the Father and not be judged, and we’re all sinners. The only way to the Father is thru Jesus Christ the lamb of God… All the debt of your pass and future sins have been nailed to the cross and forgiven.
Christopher Hitchens will be wrenching in Hell forever!!!
He could have chosen life but chose death
May God’s Blessings be with to you all.
Yes, a story in which a guy declares that “every man should be ruler of his own household” will totally destroy feminists’ belief in modern marriage. Because if you can find an example of someone saying something, you have proven it true.
And if anything, this story makes the idea look silly. She didn’t want to do something her husband came up with while drunk, and someone told him that would cause discord everywhere? Meh. There’s a reason I’m not a Christian.
Hebrews 9.22
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Only the blood of Jesus takes away one’s sins for all eternity. Without the precious blood of the Lord that cleanses you from your sins, Hell will be for sure your next residence.
Salvation costs nothing, it is free, entirely paid by the sacrifice of the Son of God Almighty. Repent from your unbelief( realize your guilt of sin, change your mind about sin and God) and you will be forgiven entirely, your past, present and future sins erased forever by the blood of the Son. Only through remission of sins by the blood of the Son Christ Jesus , we are finally reconciled with the FATHER up in the sky.
Jesus paid a debt that he did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.
Niggers raped a woman who said no, because she didn’t want to fuck if the niggers cound not pay.
Brings a tear to the eye.
And then his pop’s like “where’s my money, bitch?” and if you don’t have it he sets you on fire.
What about that one time the bitch made a false rape accusation? I think the story was that David was approached by some queen and he refused sex and so she became very angry and made a false rape accusation.
Funny how all this info is there, about the real nature of women, and yet Christian men are the biggest betas and manginas out there.
The real nature of women is embedded inside the brain of every man. He’s just got to access that side.
We live in a world where they don’t want you to know that side.
You might be referring to Joseph and Potiphar’s wife.
And the lesson is?
Something about fucking kids. I didn’t read the article, just looked at the picture.
The Bible taught me that men have guns and women have bombs.
Just mention the Bible and the trolls come out to play
Tried reading the Bible once. I found it to be utterly boring and repetitive. Didn’t get through Genesis IIRC.
Granted I was 14 at the time. Maybe I’d take something more away from it if I ever read it again, but given the way I remember it, I honestly doubt it.
Nonetheless these were good passages. I suppose the trick is to cut out the nonsense and get to the practical stuff. Whoever did that for the benefit of the community I assume would receive much thanks.
The New Atheists make a huge mistake by assuming that just because the Abrahamic religions promote patriarchy, that means patriarchy derives from superstition like god beliefs.
Uh, no. We can’t observe our tribe’s supernaturals, despite what the people on those foolish “ghost hunting” shows on cable claim.
But men have had to live with women all along, and we have a vast body of experience from this relationship coded into patriarchal beliefs. If this wisdom tradition tends to put women in a bad light – well, you can’t blame that outcome on the gods, now, can you?
Congrats. With this article, ROF has officially jumped the shark.
awesome. modern day translation?
if the bitch acts up, next.
Queen Esther was a brave woman. Arguably an apex alpha, according to the standards of your readers.
You have, amazingly, forgone the entire point of this book.
When reading Biblical text it is important to take it in whole context, you seem to have cherry picked a small passage.
Attempt the Social-Science Criticism by The Reverend Dr. John Elliot of University of San Francisco next time you attempt social construct comparison.
You may be surprised.
12 “Queen Vashti refused to come”. Queen Vashti always happy to come, one just had to rub her clit. The King was angry because she bought a Buick when he told her to buy a Chevrolet. This is the truth, well, at least as true as the bullshit in the article.
Jesse James, U.S. sanctions imposed upon Iraq in the ten years between the war of Herbert Walker, Bush and George W. Bush killed 600,000 Iraqi children. Is that you I hear singing God Bless America? If you understood God and understood America, you would know: God would not bless America. Wake the fuck up!
Every non-believer I know if afraid to read the Gospels. And I know why.
You read from the NIV? That’s like watching the remake of “scarface” and considering it an original piece of cinematic representation.
You should have stuck with the KJV, the most accurate and authentic version out there. The NIV changes certain words around ostensibly for the purpose of making the read easier (reading a book designed to dumb down the source material is always appealing…not!) but what it actually intends is to disconnect the reader from God’s original intent and purpose.
“I’m not a big believer in Christianity”
This sentence speaks volumes. Perhaps if you gave the bible more of an exegetical approach, you would be a much more informed reader than you are now.